James Jerpe

In 1985, Jerpe was born in Pittsburgh's Lawrenceville district to Swedish émigré Andrew H. Jerpe and his second-generation Swedish-American spouse Anna Stomberg.[4][5][6] When his parents moved to Norfolk, Ohio in 1900, James remained behind and soon found work as a copy boy with a local paper.[3] By no later than 1907 he was employed as a reporter,[7] and between 1909 and 1911, he wrote for The Pittsburgh Dispatch and The Pittsburgh Post.[8][9][10] Beginning in January 1912 and continuing through roughly September 1916, Jerpe's byline appeared on a much more regular basis in what would prove his final and, by far, best-remembered incarnation, as columnist and Pirates beat writer for The Gazette Times.[11][12][13]

In 1915, during the Pirates' first east coast trip, Jerpe first complained of having difficulty seeing plays on the field. On his doctor's recommendation, he took a brief leave of absence, but within weeks, Jerpe had become completely blind.[14] Notwithstanding this sudden and disheartening development, Jerpe continued to provide his column, "On and Off the Field"[15][16][17] (and later "Sport-itorials"),[18][19] as well as other featured articles until deteriorating health forced him to bow out altogether in September 1916.[20]

In March 1908, Jerpe married Eva J. Thompson,[6] with whom he had two children.[21] In October 1960, their grandson, Andrew F. Jerpe, gained some measure of notoriety as the 14-year-old who, while making a slightly premature exit from Forbes Field just prior to the conclusion of Game 7 of the 1960 World Series, retrieved Bill Mazeroski's Series-ending home run ball.[22][23][24][25]